DOWNLOAD: First New St. Vincent Song!

Plus: The Brooklyn singer-songwriter tells SPIN about the writing process for her third LP, out in September.

St. Vincent’s divine third album Strange Mercy, out September 13 via 4AD, has been in regular rotation over here at SPIN HQ, and now the rest of the world can know why: “Surgeon,” the LP’s strikingly elegant first leak, has finally dropped online. Download it below.

Over washes of orchestral synths, cascading digital effects, and warbling guitar riffs, the 28-year-old Brooklynite born Annie Clark coos, “Best find a surgeon, Come cut me open / Dressing, undressing for a while.” That oddly steamy invitation — and palatial musical backdrop — is enough to have us studying up for the MCATs.

St. Vincent tells SPIN that she holed up in Seattle last fall to write the material for Strange Mercy. “[Death Cab for Cutie drummer] Jason McGerr had an office that was closing. He offered me the space for a month, for all of October. I was alone. I stayed at the Ace Hotel downtown, in one of the rooms with a shared bathroom,” she says.

“I would just get up in the morning and caffeinate, and run, and go to the studio for 12 hours,” she says, “come back, eat dinner alone with a book, have a glass of wine, and go to bed. And do it all over again.”

The effort to hear the first leak from Strange Mercy started earlier this week on Twitter, when fans started Tweeting “#strangemercy” in order to unlock a new song. “Surgeon” was finally set free Friday, but in the process four teaser videos, and a new website, were revealed, too. Watch them below.

St. Vincent hits the road for a 22-date U.S. tour this fall. Check out the complete dates, as well as Strange Mercy’s cover art and tracklist, right here.